The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines Surfers Paradise

Overview

Back in 2022, the Hard Rock Cafe on the Gold Coast shut its doors. Since mid-2024, the site that the bar and eatery called home — and its giant neon guitar, too — has reopened as The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines. A trip to the corner of Cavill Ave and Surfers Paradise Boulevard previously entailed soaking up music history, but now it involves sports, sports and more sports over a brew.

For more than a quarter century, no stint in Surfers Paradise was complete without a sighting of the Hard Rock Cafe's luminous musical instrument. You might not have been heading to the bar and eatery. You mightn't have ever set foot inside it, in fact. But if you were in the vicinity, you still saw the guitar. It also acted as handy meeting point, because everyone — tourists, locals and Brisbanites on weekenders down the coast — could instantly spot it.

After Hard Rock Cafe said goodbye to its perch in the Paradise Centre, a brewpub offshoot of sports bar brand The Sporting Globe has taken over, in what marks its second-ever site with 4 Pines Brewing Company. Following a $6.5-million makeover, the prime location has gained a microbrewery, plus the Gold Coast's largest island bar. 4 Pines is taking care of the former, with 14 of its beers pumping through some of the venue's 80 taps. As well as familiar sips, patrons can enjoy special releases whipped up with Queensland in mind.

Hard Rock Cafe wasn't small — it needed room to fit in all that music memorabilia — and The Sporting Globe x 4 Pines isn't either, accommodating 1000 patrons. The brewpub also features a restaurant slinging pub-style fare such as wings, pulled pork sliders, mac 'n' cheese bites, salt and pepper calamari, steak fries, wedges, loaded nachos and six types of burgers. The range from the grill includes angus rumps, baby back pork ribs by the full and half rack, and a one-kilogram meat board. Opt for a parmigiana instead and you have nine choices — and yes, a cheeseburger version does sound mighty tempting.

Swapping tunes for sports, patrons can now check out their favourite codes on 60-plus high-definition TVs. If you're particularly keen for a big-screen experience, there's a few five-square-metre screens among them.